The authors, University of Colorado professor emeriti Jane Bock and David Norris, describe the work as both a classroom textbook and a professional field guide.

If Bock and Norris have their way, the publication will help raise the profile of this field. Forensic botany — the application of plant science to criminal investigations — goes back to antiquity, but its use in U.S. courts is relatively new.

Bock hopes "the book ends up in lots of district attorney and lawyer libraries, in prosecuting and defense attorneys' files, in survey courses on forensics." The authors would like to see increased reliance on plant forensics in the justice system and greater awareness of the field as a career.

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Internationally-renowned for pioneering the forensic analysis of stomach contents and fecal material, Bock and Norris have consulted in approximately a dozen local cases including the 1999 gang rape in Lefthand Canyon, the 1999 Mirabal murder in Longmont, and the JonBenet Ramsey case. Bock says "we have no trouble getting it (plant forensics) accepted into evidence."

'Another tool we can use'

David Norris

In the Lefthand Canyon case, Norris said, reliance on "ecological fingerprints" helped convict the perpetrators. Recovered plant matter from the suspects' van matched plants growing at the same elevation as the crime scene. In the Ramsey case, pineapple identified in the girl's intestines was critical to evaluating parental testimony. Bock and Norris did not, however, find evidence that plants outside the house were disturbed by an intruder, as some had alleged.

Cmdr. Tom Trujillo of the Boulder Police Department said plant forensics has been helpful in some cases, but fundamentally "it's not different. It's just another tool we can use."

For instance, correlating plant matter on pieces of evidence with local ecology in one case helped narrow down a large potential crime search area.

Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall has not relied on plant forensics in her current or former roles.

"The world of forensic science on TV, they show a lot of technology, it costs a lot of money, and it's not necessarily needed in every case. I guess we're up against that challenge. People have higher expectations than what is the realistic approach ... Anytime you use a specialist for something, it can start racking up pretty quickly."

Bock credited popular true-crime and forensics television shows with pumping up interest in the field. The authors themselves are now quasi-celebrities, having participated in four episodes of Forensic Files and a National Geographic show. Their real-life scenarios have inspired crime novels and true-crime stories.

It's not hard to imagine where popular interest originates. Open the cover of "Forensic Plant Science" and you'll see chapters such as "The Burning Torso" and "'Poisoned Pen' Letters." There are chapters on aging and clandestine gravesites, on fecal matter, time of death, digestive contents — and an appendix entry on vomit. The book also covers more mundane subjects such as "Plant Taxonomy," "Palynology" and "Genetic Analyses: Use of Deoxyribonucleic Acid."

The second career for both was launched in 1982 when a Denver-area coroner asked for help identifying the stomach contents of a murder victim. The successful intervention garnered attention from law enforcement professionals nationally and internationally. They have since assisted in about 50 cases, mostly homicides. They have offered professional trainings in the U.S., England, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies.

Norris taught a course in forensic biology at CU until his 2012 retirement from the Integrative Physiology Department. He is widely known for his work in fish and amphibian neuroendocrinology and environmental endocrinology, and is the author of several highly-regarded textbooks.

Bock worked in CU's Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, focusing on plant anatomy, population ecology and evolution. She is the author of four books, two of them with her ornithologist, CU-faculty husband.

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